Small Changes
by Emilie Rose
Summary: A story of how a simple happenstance can create a life-changing chain of events. Bellatrix Black is rescued by that horrid Mudblood Lily Evans and begins to wonder if she's so horrid after all. FRIENDSHIP ONLY  Lily   Sev forever!


**Greetings, all! I am branching out in my exploration of the Harry Potter universe. BEHOLD! Something besides Severus/Lily fluff.**

**I read a few fanfics that made me think about Bellatrix as a young girl. At first, the idea was a little creepy. I mean, how could that mad woman have ever had a childhood? But Tom Riddle had one and I firmly believe that his life could have turned out differently if things in his life had happened differently. So the same must be true for Bellatrix.**

**Here is part one of my story of how a simple thing like a fall can start a cascade of events that prove to be life-changing. In my story, Bellatrix is one year older than Lily and Severus. That may not be accurate, but just bear with me. Thanks!**

**STORY TIME!**

No. No, this could not be happening. It was absurd, pathetic. She was Bellatrix Black and stupid commonplace accidents did not befall her.

Her ankle throbbed painfully, negating all of her worthless protests. Bellatrix Black had slipped down a set of icy stairs on the Hogwarts grounds and was now lying in the snow, unable either to stand or to reach her wand, which had fallen several feet out of her reach.

Few students had dared to venture outside during the current blizzard, which was both a blessing and a curse to Bellatrix. On the one hand, no one would see her in this predicament. On the other hand, she was starting to worry that she wouldn't be able to get up on her own.

Fifteen minutes and six disastrous attempts at moving later, Bellatrix was relieved to see a dark form moving through the snow in her direction. She was on the verge of calling out for help when she noticed the figure's long orange hair and obnoxious red and yellow scarf. Of course, the first person to come her way would be that bratty second-year Mudblood, and a Gryffindor on top of that.

Lily Evans sauntered through the snow, catching snowflakes on her tongue. At first, she did not notice that she was no longer alone on the snowy grounds, but when she saw the dark figure sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, she rushed toward it. Upon realizing that the fallen student was the angry Slytherin third year who so often called her awful names, Lily hesitated. She really didn't feel like getting hexed and left outside to freeze. Yet perhaps Bellatrix was actually hurt, and if that were the case, Lily couldn't simply leave her.

Summoning her Gryffindor bravery and willing her voice not to shake, Lily called out to the older girl from several feet away. "Um... Bellatrix? Are you alright?"

Bellatrix felt her frozen face redden. She refused to look like a pathetic fool in front of this girl. "Yes, I'm fine." To accentuate the point, Bellatrix tried to push herself into an upright position. But this attempt proved no more successful than any of the last and she fell back into the snow, hissing in ill-disguised pain.

Lily rushed forward and extended her hand toward the fallen girl. "Here, let me help you."

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like you," Bellatrix snapped, drawing away from her potential rescuer.

Lily, who had come to expect nothing less than insults, was not overly offended. She simply smirked in a way that strongly resembled her best friend Severus and commented, "Clearly you do".

Bellatrix huffed, unable to argue because she knew that Evans was right. "Fine, then," she conceded. "But just give me my wand. I can handle it from here."

Trying not to think about how stupid it was to hand one's enemy a weapon, Lily retrieved Bellatrix's wand from the snowdrift where it had fallen and handed it warily to its owner.

She watched as Bellatrix immobilized her obviously broken ankle with a spell then tried once again to stand. But even with the magical support, the girl only managed to raise herself a few inches off the ground before collapsing.

Although Bellatrix prized herself on her very Slytherin ability to conceal her emotions, Lily could see that her classmate was in a great deal of pain. She watched Bellatrix struggle for several uncomfortable moments before once again offering her a hand.

"I promise I won't tell anyone you accepted help from a Mudblood."

Her pretty face contorting into a bitter and uncomfortable smile, Bellatrix reached out and allowed Lily to pull her to her feet.

"Now put your arm around my shoulder," Lily instructed, "And I'll hold onto your waist."

Bellatrix obeyed silently, forcing herself not to look at this girl who she hated so deeply. The sound of softly blowing wind and snow pressed on her ears and her stomach clenched at the immense awkwardness of the situation. She desperately wanted to say something, to put this strange girl in her place- putting her filthy Mudblood hands on a member of the noble and most ancient house of Black, really! The logical part of her mind knew this was ridiculous; Evans was only trying to help her. But the situation was humiliating and Bellatrix had become accustomed to fighting humiliation with anger.

"So what in hell were you doing out in this storm anyway, you stupid Mudblood?" she blurted, knowing it was far from a biting insult but unable to come up with anything better.

"I like the snow," replied Lily. Bellatrix could hear the smile in her voice. "I just decided to go for a walk in it. And it's really been so much more enjoyable to do since I came here and learned how to do a warming spell."

Bellatrix snorted. Stupid Mudblood, not even knowing about warming spells until she was eleven years old. And how silly, to go waltzing through the snow!

"What were you doing out here, then?" Lily countered.

"Trying to spend a few moments away from the stupid prats in our common room. I don't understand why people feel the need to talk if they have nothing to say."

Once again, Bellatrix felt her face redden. The question had caught her off guard and she had answered without thinking, something she never did. At the same time, it was oddly refreshing to admit that she was often just as aggravated by the fools in her house as she was by the Mudbloods and blood traitors that infested the school.

Lily chuckled at Bellatrix's statement. "Good to know that your obsession with Slytherin hasn't blinded you from seeing that a great lot of your housemates are stupid, arrogant berks."

Bellatrix bit back a wicked grin and quipped back, "My loyalty to the Black family hasn't stopped me from noticing that my cousin Sirius is a pathetic, foolish- what was that word you used for his friend?- oh yes. Toerag."

Lily laughed at hearing her insult for Potter come from the mouth of Bellatrix Black. Silence once again fell between them but it was decidedly more relaxed than before.

When they reached the castle, Bellatrix tried to pull away from her rescuer but Lily continued to hold her steady and simply led her through the least frequently used passages to get to the hospital wing.

In some strange way, Bellatrix felt comfortable with this girl who was not only helping her but was trying to protect her precious dignity as well.

It occurred to her that this was likely her one chance to ask a question that had been brewing in the back of her mind since the day Evans arrived at Hogwarts. Without caring whether or not the younger girls would find the question intrusive, she asked, "What's the story with you and Snape?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily snapped instantly, clearly set on edge by the inquiry.

"Well I was only wondering," Bellatrix rephrased, trying to sound more tactful. "I mean a friendship between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor isn't exactly commonplace. And it's obvious how much he fancies you."

"We're just friends," Lily stated a bit too quickly. Of course she knew that Severus was more than a little sweet on her. But she was currently in the process of deciphering whether that floating feeling she got whenever she was around him meant that she fancied him as well and that wasn't really something she wanted to talk about to anyone, least of all to Bellatrix Black.

"We've been friends since we were eight years old," Lily explained briefly. "He was the one who told me about magic. Coming here and getting sorted into different houses can't change that."

Bellatrix nodded, satisfied with the answer for the moment but sure that their friendship could not survive without incident. Whether it would be Slytherins or Gryffindors that tore most on their bond, she could only guess, but she was quite sure that the rival groups would not let the friendship survive.

Before Bellatrix could further contemplate this strange relationship between the overly helpful Mudblood and the painfully awkward Slytherin, they arrived at the hospital wing.

Lily stopped at the door and loosened her grip on Bellatrix, though she remained close enough to catch the older girl if she fell. "Perhaps I ought to let you go now," she said, her mouth curving into an ironic smile. "We wouldn't want Madam Pomphrey to see you with filth like me."

Bellatrix shifted her weight off Lily and leaned against a wall for support. "No, that wouldn't do at all, would it, Mudblood." Lily was surprised to notice the wry smile that accompanied the somehow softened insult.

With Bellatrix safely delivered to the hospital wing, Lily turned to leave. But just as the Slytherin reached the door, she turned back to the girl for whom she formerly felt nothing but abject hatred and called out. "Oi, Evans!"

Lily turned, a questioning look on her face. Did Bellatrix want to deliver a parting insult?

"Thanks. I'm not a huge fan of freezing to death."

Lily smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as Bellatrix continued. "And if anyone ever finds out about this, Evans, you are going to wish that Snape never told you about magic."

"Of course, Miss Black," Lily answered mockingly, bowing low. She the turned and ran before Bellatrix decided to hex her.

**Thoughts? I actually have quite a bit more of this mapped out in my head already, but I'd REALLY like some feedback. Is this interesting? Just plain absurd? Should Bella have a pet bunny rabbit (Just kidding!)**


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